‘Won’t leave until they quit!’

Sri Lanka protesters plan to occupy president and prime minister’s residences until they resign

Leaders of the protest movement in Sri Lanka who have forced the president and prime minister out of their official residences said on Sunday they will occupy the buildings until the two quit office.

“The president has to resign, the prime minister has to resign and the government has to go,” said playwright Ruwanthie de Chickera at a news conference at the protest site, flanked by other leaders helping coordinate the movement against the government.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe plan to step down, the country’s parliamentary speaker said on Saturday, bowing to intense pressure after a day of protests in which demonstrators stormed the president’s official residence and set fire to the prime minister’s home in Colombo.

Embattled President Gotabaya, whose location is still unknown since the protesters overran both his office and the official residence, has ordered officials to ensure the smooth distribution of cooking gas after the fuel-starved country received 3,700 metric tonnes of LP gas, his office said on Sunday.

Protesters ‘find cash’ 

The protesters have claimed to have recovered 17.85 million Sri Lankan rupees in Gotabaya’s his mansion. A video was being shared on social media showing the protesters counting the currency notes that were unearthed. They have handed over the cash to the local police.

Hundreds of anti-government protesters on Saturday stormed into Rajapaksa’s residence in central Colombo’s high-security Fort area after breaking the barricades, as they demanded his resignation over the island nation’s worst economic crisis in recent memory. Another group of protesters entered the private residence of PM Wickremesinghe and set it on fire. 

The President’s only communication outside since the protesters stormed into the city has been with the Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, who announced late Saturday night that the President would resign on Wednesday. The main Opposition parties on Sunday agreed to form an all-party interim government after the anticipated resignation.

IMF hopes for resolution 

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it is hoping for a resolution to Sri Lanka’s political turmoil that will allow a resumption of talks for a bailout package after the violent day of protests Saturday. “We hope for a resolution of the current situation that will allow for resumption of our dialogue on an IMF-supported program,” the IMF said in a statement.

Pope expresses solidarity with people of Sri Lanka

Pope Francis on Sunday expressed solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka who “continue to suffer from political and economic instability” and appealed for peace in the country. “Together with the bishops of the country, I renew my appeal for peace, I implore those in authority not to ignore the cry of the poor and the needs of the people,” the pontiff said in his Angelus message, speaking from his balcony in St. Peter’s Square.

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